Ontario Centre for Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resources (OCCIAR), Mining Innovation Rehabilitation Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) and Cambium Aboriginal 

Year(s) Funded: 2018-2019
Topic Area:  Vulnerability Assessment
Title: Addressing Health Impacts and Vulnerabilities within First Nation Communities – A Collaborative Approach​

Communities Supported: Beausoleil, Curve Lake, Georgina Island and Rama First Nations

Project Summary: This project took on a collaborative approach to address some of the climate change-related health vulnerabilities that were identified from existing and newly collected Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK). The project initiated and built relations with local health units to provide expertise, ensure a holistic approach in conducting this work as well as create sustainability. The project supported the identification of health vulnerabilities resulting from, and being exacerbated by climate change. Each community chose a health vulnerability to focus their work, and all communities and health units worked together to develop adaptation options to address each of the vulnerabilities. Results from each of the communities would be combined into one document and will exist as a living document that can be built upon and shared with other First Nations and non-First Nation communities. 

Objectives for the project included:
1. Assist the First Nation communities in enhancing the climate change adaptation work they have already undergone.
2. Alleviate some of the challenges faced by the communities in seeking to undertake this sort of project such as manageability, capacity, funding securement and prioritization of identified vulnerabilities and impacts.
3. Augment project successfulness by initiating capacity building through relationships and partnerships within the communities as well as with outside non-Indigenous organizations.
4. Identification of one specific climate change health vulnerability per community that is not unique to a particular community and further research the impacts of such to be shared with the collaborative.
5. Development of an adaptation and implementation plan per community for the chosen health vulnerability which will be guided by the Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Framework 2015 and will be shared with the collaborative.
6. Initiate new relationships and partnerships that will be reciprocal in nature in building capacity between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous organizations to address health impacts caused by climate change.